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A Deeper Look! Part of the interface between South Carolina piedmont and southern Blue Ridge Escarpment is enclosed within a little-known tract of land called the Jocassee Gorges. Only a couple of highways penetrate this land, and the best access is from Lake Jocassee, which nestles into the folds of the mountains at 1100’ above…

Rainforest to Rainforest! It’s raining in Dominica, soft, fine, gentle rain, and the sun is shining through the thick tropical foliage enough to illuminate every drop. I have a view through the mountains all the way down to the Caribbean Sea from the deck outside my glamping tent. A stand of mystical kava grows on…

We’ve been on this incredible journey for 13 years. I’m proud of what we stand for, the work we do. Here’s our mission statement as we go headlong into a new and challenging year. The mission of Jocassee Lake Tours and Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education is the promotion and protection of the Jocassee Gorges ecosystem…

So what do you do? Consider this an ongoing explanation of the mission of Jocassee Lake Tours and Jocassee Wild. Our planet is in trouble. Most all of us know that. It can be overwhelming. It seems nothing an individual does can have much effect. The problem is just too big and widespread. So what…

  This is winter along the base of the Blue Wall. We pull on boots, hats, jackets and raincoats to walk the dog. During our recent absence, gray squirrels decided our nice dry front porch was their nice dry front porch, and they’ve chewed through the hard plastic lid of the bird seed bucket, helping…

  Have I mentioned rain lately? Earlier in the fall I thought we were entering a drought cycle, something that seems to happen around here every decade or two. The lake was over 10 feet down, and I thought we were in for a dry, very low lake winter. Not so! The rains are copious,…

It’s been three years since we lost the ephemeral pools on the route of our daily walk, and to be honest, the walk is less engaging without them. When a land developer decided the old road bed should be “improved”–to attract buyers who never came—the ruts creating the ponds were scraped smooth and the birthplace…

SPRING? Maybe so. It sure seemed like it this week. Cool mornings, mild afternoons, it’s been entirely lovely to be on the lake. There are ring-billed gulls on the lake in big numbers, most everywhere you look. The loons seem to be concentrated in a few areas, but they’re feeding heavily. That’s a sign that…

Lake Jocassee is a 9,000-acre, 385-foot deep reservoir located in northwest South Carolina. It was created by Duke Power in 1973 for the purpose of generating hydroelectric power. The lake is commonly known for the clean and cold Appalachian mountain rivers that feed the lake, keeping its waters cool and water visibility clear year-round. The…

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES JOCASSEE GORGES ONE OF “50 OF THE WORLD’S LAST GREAT PLACES”   The Jocassee Gorges was recently named one of “50 of the World’s Last Great Places—Destinations of a Lifetime” in a special edition of National Geographic magazine. “National Geographic’s special recognition of Jocassee Gorges is quite an honor,” said Mark Hall,…